Slayer's Hope
by CaliaDragon
Summary: Xander Harris had a hidden destiny. As the Slayer's Heart he changed their lives, as their Hope he will change many more. Slash BuffyNCISCSI: MiamiCSI: New YorkHighlander
1. Chapter 1

Fic: Slayer's Hope

Author: CaliaDragon

Fandom: Buffy/CSI: New York/CSI: Miami/FatF/Highlander/NCIS

Warnings: Slash, Unbeta'd, Het, Femmeslash, Violence, Language, Threesomes

Pairings: Xander/Danny, Xander/Horatio, Lindsey/Stella, Don/Mac/Danny, Tony/Abby/Gibbs, Ryan/Eric, Speed/Brian/Methos, Calleigh/Aiden

Feedback: or here or on any list I submit to.

Archive: BC, Wwomb, any one with prior permission and any list I submit to.

Disclaimer: None of the known characters belong to me, the ones you don't recognize including the slayers and watchers belong to me.

AN: I have taken liberty with many things. Lost son never happened, Twilight did, but I changed it. Aiden was not fired, but she did transfer to Miami she and Calleigh are dating. Ryan is in the lab and they work together. Methos and Brian have both settled into Miami and Brian is an old friend of Speed's. Methos is Speed's teacher. The Miami team knows about the dark and helps fight it.

Spoilers: Chosen for Buffy, Twilight for NCIS, Lost Son for CSI: Miami, Current Season for CSI: New York, None for Highlander or Fast and the Furious.

Summary: Xander Harris had a hidden destiny, as the Heart for the Slayers he changed their lives, as the hope for the new Council he will change many more.

Part: 1?

The rain poured down on him, but he ignored it as he walked down the street. As he walked, he thought of the life he had led and the years he had stood at the Slayers' side. Years that he could not regret no matter what happened to bring him to this point. People watched him as he walked, each saw a dangerous man, then something made them look twice.

They watched him, some with hungry eyes, and some with hopeful. Those lost wandering souls called to him, they brought him out of the mood he was in and made him pause, turning back to their silent cries for help. He walked back to them, these desperate lost children. Children that he wanted to help, it was why he left Africa, Asia and Europe. It was why he came to New York to work, why he refused to allow himself to be isolated within the confines of the Council. He loved his slayers, loved the girls that he gathered. However, there were more than just those girls that needed what the Council could provide, so he came here to the place where people, children were swallowed up, never to be seen again.

Right now, his gentleness gathered these wounded souls to him. It was what had them following their "_Hope_" back to the New York branch of he council and allowed themselves to be turned over to non-judgmental people who gave them a bed their bodies did not have to pay for and a meal they didn't have to steal. It was what gathered those like them.

Xander went back to the streets walking and thinking, tonight he could not settle, his body was tired, his heart restless. Today was the fifth anniversary of the fall of Sunnydale. It wasn't that he was mourning, he had gotten past the pain and guilt of living in Africa. He knew his loved ones and those that had lost their lives to hell were in a safer happier place. What had him restless are the memories of those days of seeming innocence. It was hard to think that they, he, had been innocent, but really they had. They knew of evil, they knew of betrayal and pain, but in many ways, they were innocent.

They had all believed that they could survive anything that nothing could separate or break them. They had been so very wrong. Xander knew that now. Joyce's death had been the first crack in their innocence. Death had come for her, left them reeling, and confused. Xander had never told anyone, but he wonder even all these years later if there hadn't been something sinister in Joyce's death. He and Spike had stolen the autopsy report on Joyce and there had been too many anomalies in the coroners findings that he just knew that her death wasn't natural. They never told Buffy, it would have killed her long before the dive off the tower had.

Buffy's death had shattered their innocence and ground it into the dust. Losing Buffy had forced them to grow up in a way that they really hadn't before. He had known looking at Anya after the spell that he couldn't marry her simply because he had heard Joyce in the back of his mind asking him if he was ready for such a commitment, reminding him of the anger and the pain that she had dealt with. It was that soft voice more than any vision that made him walk away. He regretted the way he walked away, but he never regretted walking. After she thought, Anya didn't regret it either. It still killed him that he lost his best friend, but they were long past the stage of lovers.

Tara's death had mangled any attempt to return to innocence, it had frankly shattered them all into a million pieces. Tara had been Willow's lover, but she had been all of their hope and joy. Tara represented everything the Scoobies had lost. They clung to her, not just for her love of Willow, but also for her love of them. Losing her to such a senseless act of violence had set the rest of them drifting away on a tide of self-destruction.

Xander had seen it and had been powerless to stop it. Then just after the return of Willow to sanity he had been kidnapped, something the others still did not know. He never told them it had taken him three months to get back to Sunnydale from the pocket dimension he had been in and get rid of the demon pretending to be him. Not even Spike knew about that, thankfully.

He returned the day Willow did and never told a soul what had happened. Though by then Xander had lost any ability to be the heart of the group, his was just too badly broken. More than anyone Xander had been surprised that they had survived the First, Caleb, and Sunnydale. He had expected to die in that burning, strident push to defeat evil at its own door. He had expected to loose his life and watch his beloved family loose theirs.

Instead, they had lived and Xander floundered, trying to make up his mind as to whether he should live or die. Many a night, while soothing the restless agony in his soul he prayed for an answer, stay or go, live or die.

The answer to his question came in a heart-felt plea from one of the few remaining watchers. He had begged Giles to send someone who knew Giles and the rest of the new council intimately to help him gather the slayers from Africa and its surrounding countries. Xander had quietly insisted that he would be the one to go. His family had fought it at first, but he was insistent Xander wanted openness and arid lands. He wanted to see the places he still dreamed of, he wanted to feel the heat on his skin and to listen to the calls of the animals once the unforgiving sun had fallen. Therefore, two weeks after the plea had come Xander set off to Africa.

For six months, he sought out the girls and rescued those that he could. He was smuggled through dangerous territory and helped refuges get to a new home. He went through war zones and crept into countries that most avoided like the plague.

Then the dark pain had come in a new way and Xander found himself captured by a group that was of the old and dangerous faith originally practiced by the watchers and the creators of the Slayer. Xander didn't think about the three months he spent in that hell, he thought of the times after. He thought of traveling through Asia, going down to the Philippines and rescuing a young slayer and her brother from a brothel. Remarkably, Xander was quick to pick up the languages he exposed himself to routinely. Xander learned languages, dialects and sign language.

He traveled through Egypt and met people who wanted to keep him, through Greece to people who embraced him and on to Prague where he found himself lavished with attention that baffled and embarrassed him. He went through Romania and found many a child to save. He went to Paris and through Russia rescuing still more, slayer and non-slayer alike.

In Paris, he met ancients and immortals alike; he met practicing witches and old world vampires that thought him cute and sweet. Yet not one of those vampires tried to attack him. There were no slayers in the city of Paris, there were none needed. The vampires had those that served them willingly and killed any who stepped out of line.

When he went to Rome, he found himself adopted by an ancient sect of magick user that begged him to stay and wept when he left. They still sent him exotic gifts and letters smelling of incense and home. Xander almost settled there, but he felt the call to continue moving.

Xander had helped reestablish ties with two groups that had broken off with the council centuries before Xander and Giles ever thought to be born. No one of the new Council fooled themselves in to thinking that those groups would have come back to the fold had they not met Xander first.

It wasn't until he stopped in New York that he found his place. He felt the call of the city and the underlining need to stay. The Watcher in charge had huffed and blustered, Giles reassigned him to the back beyond of some far-flung country. No one messed with Xander and came out of it unscathed. Giles knew Xander's worth, now. He may not have realized it before, but he did now. Xander had brought in allies from groups that would have nothing to do with the council before.

In fact even settled in New York Xander still dealt with those that wanted to join in with the council, the only other person to bring others in was Buffy, something that had surprised everyone, but Xander. Buffy and Xander did not go a day without talking to one another. Sometimes they even spoke of council business, but mostly they healed one another, Buffy knew how fractured her mind was and how lost to the constant nightmares and memories of whom she had been and what she had seen she had become. Xander made her realize that the world was real when she found herself stabbed by the Insanity demon, Xander and Spike both made her see true reality.

Buffy had changed over the years, her empathy seemed to have returned, her anger at the world was tempered and her joy had soared. She walked a new path; she no longer looked haggard and life worn. She loved the way she was meant to, unconditionally and without restraint. The Immortal she had been involved with had been a ruse a trap for a man intent on harming the people Buffy cared for and loved. Her dreams had warned her and helped her stop the deaths of the LA crew. Dawn and Buffy worked side by side as a team and as friends in Rome. Buffy helped where she could, but only worked as a teacher. It had been decided that time had come for her to stop slaying. Dying twice and helping to save the world was more than enough work for someone suffering from PTSD.

What set it off was Xander and Buffy trying to get back the friendship they had lost. Buffy and Xander said the things that had needed said for many years, they ranted at one another they screamed out the betrayals they felt. They cried for the people they had lost and laughed at the memories of those same people.

No one understood why this happened, but each could see the change in Buffy, if not in Xander. Buffy had found herself working through guilt at her mother's death and the resentment she had secretly harbored for the years her mother had lived in wanton blindness.

Only Xander was willing to listen to Buffy's pain and anger over the times Joyce walked away from the truth and punished her for what she had had to do. She hadn't even realized it was there until Xander had made a comment about how lucky she was that Joyce had been there for her.

It wasn't until after Buffy killed Angel and was sent away by Joyce that Joyce awakened to the pain and sorrow that was her daughters calling. It had hurt Xander to listen to, but at the same time, he knew it was true and didn't try to defend Joyce's faults. He loved the woman as his own Mother, but for many years, she had been just as neglectful as Willow's parents had.

Xander had felt guilt fill him when he finally heard that Joyce had given Buffy an ultimatum on top of the already overwhelming disapproval of her friends and her own guilt at letting Ms. Callender die, Giles' torture, and finally killing Angel had been what had driven her to run.

Xander had shamefully and quietly admitted that he had lied about the spell that Willow was set to perform, he told her his reasons, and surprisingly again Buffy had listened instead of screaming and accusing. That truth telling and fight had lasted three days, three days that Xander and Buffy talked the whole time, until they finally worked their way through the pain and then collapsed in exhaustion. Giles never made a comment on the amount of the bill for that particular conversation.

Angel, Connor, and Spike had LA, Faith took over Cleveland and Chicago, other Slayers migrated to the places that swallowed the young and lost. Xander convinced Giles it needed done so that the Slayers that fell to the streets and drugs could be found and saved, Angel and Faith had seen through his rationalizations, but had said nothing. Buffy had waited until they were alone and then gently kissed his cheek and he knew in that instant that she to saw through his words.

Willow and Kennedy had moved to Asia and working as a two woman army against the under ground slave market, the slayers helped especially since Demons helped fund the movement.

Giles worked in London and the surrounding areas with the girls and with the lost children. The Council, through Xander's interference was no longer just setting its sights on the demonic wars and the vampires. They were an organization that fought for and gained rights for lost, abused and shattered children.

Xander however, didn't really recognize his contribution to such things. Africa had changed Xander. It had fractured and rebuilt the man he once was. His eye was a sign of that; the haunted shattered look was gone. Though it was still in him, he hid it well. In the place of his agony were a deep compassion and a gentleness that had literally brought people to their knees. His hair hung around his hips in a wild mass that he never quite managed to tame into a braid, though his girls always tried to tame it for the court appearances that he went to for his kids.

With Giles Xander had easily mended the painful chasm between them. In truth Giles had never gotten over what had happened to Jenny, he had developed a drinking problem, using it to escape his feelings of guilt, anger, and the constant nightmares of his torture at Angelus' hands. A part of him was still angry at Buffy for allowing all of that to happen and because of that and his guilt for those feelings; he built up a wall between himself and his charges. By the time the council had fallen, he was getting control of both his emotions and the drinking, but then the world started to go to hell again. Like Xander Giles had not expected to make it through the battle with the first. It haunted him that he had and Anya and the young slayers hadn't.

Again Xander forced Giles to talk it out, to talk about the horrors he still fought in his dreams and what he had done with Buffy and Spike to try to bring Buffy back to the vibrant fighter she had been. Xander did not condemn Giles, he talked to him and helped work out the problem, and when they finished talking Xander told Giles to call Buffy and to tell her what he was thinking, what he was feeling. Giles did and the pair worked through their problems just as Xander and Buffy had. The three were back to being a tight unit, and Xander had both his best friend and his father back.

Dawn and Xander spoke to one another every other day. The love and connection they had for one another never dimmed, Dawn was happy that Xander had made up with the other three, but did not force Xander to reconcile with Spike, though she still wished the pair could go back to the easy bantering that they had shared when Buffy was dead. Dawn knew that it had only been for her sake and things had changed to the point that the two, while not hostile to one another, rarely spoke unless it was council business.

Faith and Xander had the easiest road to reconciliation; Xander forgave Faith long before she forgave herself. Xander knew what it was like to be in pain and to lash out at the one that was trying to help you and to lash out at the person that represented what you did not want to deal with or remember. It was part of his loathing of Angel. Time and tragedy had put it in prospective for Xander, though like with Spike Xander was polite, but little more. Faith called to keep an eye on Xander and to remind herself that at least one member of the team Scooby believed in her and wanted her around. Though Giles treated her better than he once had and actually listened to what she had to say and called to check on her for more than council business. Faith never forgot what she did to Xander that was why she cherished his calls to her.

Only Willow and Xander's relationship had truly suffered. He had forgiven her for her pain and what she had done to him, Willow had yet to do so. She still punished herself for having hurt him of all people. They spoke and she explained that it wasn't him, but the coven had told her that she needed to work through the fact that she had felt the need to do magic on him several times without his permission and that until she did she would never truly be free of her guilt and would not reach atonement. None of Xander's assurances that he loved and forgave her worked. She would merely smile sadly and tell him each time to look within his heart. She would then send a mental hug his way and gently hang up the phone.

It was after those phone calls that Xander wept and then wandered. It was those nights that his pain burned the brightest, because he knew no matter what he said there was a part of him that could not forgive the fact that he had been in hell and she had not come for him.

He wasn't sure why he could forgive the others for not knowing the truth, but could not bring himself to forgive Willow. He couldn't even tell her why he was still angry, because she never knew what happened to him. Which fed the anger and the sense of betrayal, he always knew when she needed him, but both times, he had truly needed her she had not been there for him and that was what he could not forgive. It was what made him weep and walk. On those nights, he would wander and he would find those that were lost, taking them in and easing their burden, even as he himself was further burdened. He would try to save some of the innocence that he and his friends had lost.

Tonight he had saved many, yet he could not settle as he usually did on those nights. He felt the need to wander again. It was as he was passing a strobe of police lights and a SUV that he heard a struggle. Xander being who he was went to see what was happening. He cursed inwardly and reacted to the sight of the four vampires attacking the three people and the unconscious police officer on the ground.

Letting out a snarl of rage Xander ran forward kicking the first vampire in the back of his knee, as the vampire fell Xander pulled his enchanted blade and shoved it into the vampire's shoulder causing it to explode into dust. He moved way from the woman who had been struggling with the first vampire and ran past the second stabbing it as he went. When he reached the third he sneered at the growling creature and slashed upward, cutting it across the cheek and causing it to explode, the last vampire howled out its rage over the loss of its children and lunged at Xander, getting cut and dusted for his efforts.

Xander turned and rushed to the downed officer's side, the others were on their feet and he wasn't. Xander was more worried about him than the other three. He gently turned the man onto his back and shifted so that his body protected Xander injured officer from the rain. "What the hell was that?" the woman demanded.

Xander ignored her question and looked up at them, "He needs an ambulance!" he ordered softly. The woman stared at him for several minutes, then nodded and pulled out her phone. One of the men came over to him and realized that Xander was stopping the flow of blood to the injured man's neck.

"Who are you?" the blue-eyed man demanded, blinking at him through rain slicked lashes.

"No one," Xander answered quietly.

"Somehow I don't believe that." The other man answered looking down at him. Xander merely shrugged, he long ago gave up caring what others thought of him.

The door to the building opened and three men and two women walked out, they froze at the sight before them. "What happened?" the older two men demanded in stereo.

"Fucking great, let me guess you two are military?" Xander demanded, shocking the group. "My life just keeps getting better and better." He pulled out his own cell phone, while still keeping a hand on the man's throat.

"Jesse's School for Children," a soft feminine voice answered.

"It's me, I just killed vamps in front of cops and the military is here, send back up to my location," Xander ordered before hanging up.

"Don't you need to tell them where you are?" One of the men asked.

"GPS," Xander said calmly, "How close is the ambulance?" he asked looking at the stunning older woman, the one he had helped rescue.

"They'll be here any minute." She answered looking at him calmly.

"Okay, I can hold off the bleeding for a bit longer." Xander answered back blandly.

The woman was about to snap back when a group of teenage girls an older woman rushed forward, "Stay there! This is a crime scene do not contaminate their area. Spread out; find out if there are any more vamps, if there are capture one. This was stupid even for a fledge and those four were not fledges, we need to know who the target was." Xander ordered. All but one of the girls ran off to do as he bid. The one that remained was older than Xander and was watching the area carefully.

"Do you think they will return, sugar?" the older woman asked. Xander looked up at her and nodded.

"If I'm right and they were targeting someone here we could be attacked again. Set up a protection shield Lara, I don't want the nice officers and military people to get killed." Xander ordered. Lara nodded and muttered the words to the spell, bringing it up around them and causing the rain to stop falling on them. "You'll need to drop that when the ambulance arrives." He said calmly, she nodded. The rest of the group gapped in shock.

"Shit, what the fuck is going on?" One of the people demanded in awe, while crossing himself.

Lara chuckled, "That was magick honey, get used to it."

"Lara," Xander said in a gently chiding voice. Lara blushed and looked down.

"Magick is a myth," One of the women said coldly.

"And yet it was just performed in front of you," Xander said scathingly.

"I can snap your neck," the woman said coldly, her accent more pronounced.

"And I can kill you before you move," Another voice said yanking her off her feet and throwing her out of the building. Another of the younger women walked forward glaring at the one on the ground. "You _do not_ threaten Xander."

"Lindsey," Xander said gently causing the young woman to look over at him with open affection.

"I don't like her anyway; she has a stick up her butt!" Lindsey said with a grin.

"Way ta go Montana!" One of the men said with a grin at her. Lindsey rolled her eyes.

"Don't call me Montana, Danny!" she snipped, before grinning at him.

"Well it looks like we know who the target was." Lara said with a smile for Lindsey. Lindsey blushed and hurried over to Stella.

"Oh so she's the one you are crushing on," Lara said with a giggle, making Lindsey look at Stella fearfully.

"I thought she had a crush on Mac?" The man knelling by Xander asked.

"Um…I-" Lindsey looked at Xander fearfully, unsure what to say.

"Lara," Xander said in exasperation.

"Oops, I guess I should keep working on learning tact." Lara said with a blush. Xander just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Lindsey giggled, thinking of all of the lectures Xander had given the older woman.

"Can someone please explain what is going on and how exactly you three know one another?" Mac asked as he stepped closer.

"Xander! We found the other vamps, Lindsey… oh hello Lindsey, I guess you know?" the teenage girl asked. Xander let out a snort of amusement and nodded.

"Great then we don't need Mr. Fangs! Bye-bye Mr. Fangs," A small brunette slayer said as she dusted the vampire in her grasp. She then skipped over to Xander and sat down beside him. "Aww… is he going to be okay?" she asked looking at the injured police officer and then up at Xander with large, sorrowful green eyes.

"Yes, Chrissa, he's going to be okay. I want you and the other girls to head on home; it's past your bedtime anyway." Xander said leaning forward to press a kiss to the girl's forehead.

"Okay," she said with a sigh, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Don had to catch Xander to keep him from falling over at the little girl's strength.

"Lara, go ahead and drop the shield and head out, Lindsey and I will see you later." Xander ordered as they heard the ambulance in the distance.

"Sure thing sugar, come on girls, let's go home." She said and the two teams and Xander watched as they left the area. Seconds later the rain began to fall on them again.

"You will be explaining this right?" the tattooed girl asked with wide eyes.

"Vampires, witches, slayers and all the ooglies of the night are real. The girls that just left and Lindsey help to fight the evils. By the way Lindsey, remind me to ground Chrissa and the other girls for letting her patrol." Xander said wearily.

"I will," Lindsey said stoutly. The girls had broken the biggest role in the group; any Slayer under 16 years old were forbidden from patrolling without three or more senior slayers. Those girls had only had Lara and one other senior slayer in the group.

"What did they do?" Gibbs asked, eyeing the boy.

"Chrissa is 13 years old; they broke the rules when they took her slaying. They are all going to be grounded for it." Lindsey answered.

"You know this how?" Ziva asked bitterly, still smarting from being thrown by an inferior person.

"Because I'm a slayer and we all have to follow Xander's rules. Rules are no Slayer less than 16 years old can go on patrol without at least three senior slayers in the group. Lara and one of the other girls were the only senior slayers in the group. That and Chrissa was out after curfew." Lindsey said with a sneer for Ziva. She really could not stand the officer; it had felt good to give her a toss.

Danny grinned, their Montana had a hidden side, and he looked forward to finding out more about it. That and he really liked watching her kick Ziva's ass. The woman had been a smug bitch since NCIS showed up.

The group found themselves distracted by the arrival of the ambulance and put the discussion on hold while the paramedics took control of the inured officer and rushed away from the scene with him. Once they were gone, Xander walked to Lindsey and let her hug him. "Are you okay?' she asked as they pulled apart. Xander nodded and kissed her on the forehead.

"Let's get back to the lab. I want answers." Mac said, though he noticed Stella's tenseness and Flack's appraisal. Danny just shrugged and grinned at him. Mac shook his head Danny loved a mystery.

"You can ride with me Xander," Lindsey said, "I'll give you something to clean off your dagger and your hands when we get in the car." Xander nodded and let her lead him away. Sheldon and Danny followed with Tony and Abby. They were not letting the duo out of their sights.

The rest of the group went to the two remaining vehicles, while Flack waited for some one to come and get the downed officers vehicle. Mac promised to wait on him until they started questioning the pair on what was going on.

It was an hour before Don made it back to the station; he found everyone in Mac's office and finally got a good look at the kid that he had seen on the street. The boy was actually older that Don had thought at first glance. "So what the hell was that in the alley?" Don asked bluntly.

Lindsey and Xander laughed, "You don't believe in working up to a subject do you?" Xander asked with a grin.

"Why waste time when a few words get you the same answers?" Don said with a smirk.

"Those were vampires, older vampires at that. They had gone there to attack Lindsey, I heard the struggle and went and dusted them. The end." Xander said with a smirk. Lindsey bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Vampires?" Tony asked, while the girl beside him bounced.

"Yes, they are real." Xander said, humor leaching from his face. He looked over at Lindsey and sighed. He reached up and stroked her hair.

"I'm fine Xander," she reassured him. Xander worried for all of his slayers and his kids. Before Xander had taken over New York, four girls had died, since he had taken over, no one had died.

"Is she in danger?" Stella asked, though she was still thinking about what the woman Lara had said and was wondering if it was true. If it was, she intended to get Lindsey for herself. One of the main reasons Lindsey's crush on Mac had irritated her was because she had been attracted to the young woman herself. Now she just might have a chance.

"She's a cop and a slayer, she's always going to be in danger, just as the rest of you are. She just has another kind of slime ball after her." Xander answered wearily.

"How can we help to protect her?" Sheldon asked.

"Learn to protect yourselves. Lindsey is stronger and more deadly than anyone in this room, except the military people and maybe me. However, she is stronger than they are. In addition, if she is ever put in a position where she has to kill anyone, you are to call me immediately. Slayers go insane if they take a human life, even if it is by accident. She will self-destruct and no amount of training will stop her from imploding, I have seen it happen and you don't want that. Wear symbols of your faith and carry holy water with you, get a dagger and have it blessed. Carry silver bullets as a back up. Those are just some of the small things you can do to protect yourselves and her." Xander said calmly.

Ziva was glaring at him, "What is your name?" she snapped irritated. Ziva knew something of the dark, just as she knew magick was real, but part of her training had been to keep that knowledge contained and to cover the truth of vampires.

"Xander Harris," he said calmly. They were all shocked when Ziva paled dramatically.

"Please forgive me my disrespect, sir?' she asked humbly.

"It's okay, what is your name?" Xander asked gently. To Xander all women were respected until they did something to loose that respect. He had felt guilty for antagonizing her in the alley, but he was tired and revved up from the fight at the same time.

"Ziva David," she answered respectfully.

"You helped one of my slayers get out of Africa and back to me. Thank you so much for that. If I had known you were in the states I would have come and said thank you." Xander said warmly. Her team watched in fascination as she blushed and preened under the praise.

"How did you do that?" Tony and Kate asked in unison. Kate was still a part of the team, but do to her injuries she was still not allowed out in the field. She had been lucky the day on the roof, Tony had bumped into her and the bullet had ricocheted off her skull, the injury had still been bad enough that no one had thought she would make it. It had been a serious struggle, but she was back as part of the team and acted as their profiler. She and Ziva had already had quite a few arguments and Kate did not like the cruelty that Ziva seemed to enjoy inflicting on Tony. With Kate and Tony, they snipped at one another, but there was always an edge of teasing to it. In fact, if it weren't for Tony using his families influence to get her the best therapists, she would still not be on the team. Tony had kept it quiet and had even convinced Ziva that Tony was donating his sperm. Ducky chuckled warmly from where he was sitting, while Palmer looked confused. Gibbs smirked.

Xander looked at them in confusion, before turning to look at Lindsey. "She hasn't been very nice since she got here; you are the first person she has shown respect to." Lindsey explained at her watcher's confusion.

Xander looked up at Ziva and smiled gently, "Don't try so hard, be yourself, they will still like and respect you." He said after looking at her for several minutes.

Ziva looked down, "They would not like me anyway, and it was my studying them that got Kate shot in the first place."

"So you have decided to strike out first and that way they can't hurt you. Somehow, I don't think they will. Be yourself and you'll fit in better." Xander told her just as gentle. She looked up at him and smiled softly.

"Thank you, Slayer's Hope." She said in Hebrew. Xander smiled back at her a shy smile on his face.

Lindsey grinned at Xander and then turned to look at the rest of the group. "I can help out better than before. I have heightened senses, but I haven't used them for fear of outing myself as a slayer." She told them.

"You can't tell anyone about Lindsey and the other girls. If you do it could put them in great danger. Think of what the less noble would do to someone like the child slayer you saw. Gibbs you must not tell Jen, I do not believe she would protect the secret." Ziva said solemnly, her eyes dark with worry.

Gibbs looked at her in shock, but nodded.

"Why were you really assigned to the team?" Tony asked, all hint of teasing gone.

"Jen wants you gone; she sees you and Kate as a threat to her getting Gibbs. That is all I know." Ziva answered truthfully.

Abby scowled, "She does know that Gibbs would leave NCIS first?"

"No, she believes their prior relationship will hold sway on him," Ducky answered before Ziva could. Only Ziva looked at him in surprise. The others nodded that that made sense to them.

"So Montana, does this mean you can bench press me?" Danny asked with a wicked twinkle in his eye. Lindsey giggled and nodded.

"What does it mean for you to be a slayer and a cop?" Stella asked calmly.

"Just what it did before, nothing has really changed, except that now you know what I am. The big danger comes in if I have to go fight-"

"Which should not happen, my girls all have a life that is what comes first to me. All of the slayers train, they have to so that they can control their strength and their senses, however, my slayers work on a rotation. I will not allow their being a slayer to interfere with their lives and future." Xander said firmly, stopping Lindsey before she could swear to fight over their needing her.

Mac looked at him, "Why are you so adamant that they have a life beyond slaying?"

"Four years ago the world changed and slayers all over the world were called. Before that there were only two slayers, they fought and were never acknowledged for that, they fell to the darkness and lost what it was that made them warriors for the light. Before those two women, those girls, slayers lasted barely months. In one case three slayers died within four days of one another fighting to save the world. No one cared whether they lived or died, the men that watched and trained them used them as weapons and gave no thought to their personality. If the slayer was vivacious or independent the Council made sure they fell first, after all there were always more to take their places. Now the older slayers and those that fight at her side control the Council. None of us will allow our slayers to go through what those that came before them did. It is our pleasure and our duty to care and nurture these remarkable women and children. They won't fight alone, they won't be ignored, and if it comes down to it we will die to protect these precious women." Xander said calmly, quietly.

Lindsey had tears in her eyes, as well as a glow of pure emotion on her face as she looked at Xander. She leaned over and hugged him, Xander smiled slightly and rocked her gently.

"Do you only protect Slayers?" Stella asked, amazed by the depth of the boys feeling for the slayers.

"No, we fight for and protect the children that are lost or thrown away by society. We do what we can to help were we can." Xander answered honestly.

"The new school and shelter! That is where I recognize you from, we had a case in front of the shelter, you had a teenage boy inside that his father was trying to kill for being gay." Don snapped out. "You stopped the guy and nearly made paste outta him."

Xander smiled coldly, all gentleness bleeding from his eye. "Yes I did and I'll do it again if the bastard comes near my kids."

"I don't think you have to worry about that, the DA is goin' for attempted murder and child abuse. We do need ta talk to the kid though, if you'd let him know." Don said with a cold smile of his own.

Xander nodded, "Joey is asleep right now and he's got school in the morning, but as soon as he gets home from school I'll talk to him and then call you, do you have a card on you so I can have your number?"

Don nodded and pulled one out, before reaching out and handing it to Xander. Xander pocketed the card and smiled at them again. "I'm going to head out so that you can get back to work, if you have anymore questions come by the school or call me, Lindsey has my number." Xander said with a hug for Lindsey. He then stood and Danny jumped to his feet and led him from the lab.

When he got back, everyone was eyeing Lindsey. "I got a question for you Montana. When we had that psycho in a while back you said you had seen more blood that what was in the penthouse was that as a slayer?"

Lindsey nodded solemnly. "Yes, just before I transferred into New York a H'ilstun demon attacked the compound I was living in. We managed to kill it, but several slayers and out head watcher ended up ripped to shreds. It was the worse thing I have ever seen. I was still having nightmares when I transferred in, but Xander put me on slayer therapy and helped me get past what happened."

"Slayer therapy?" Stella asked.

"It's where slayer's get together and talk about the things that have happened to us and the nightmares we have faced since becoming Slayer's. He takes care of us and anyone else that needs it." Lindsey answered with a small smile.

The group looked at her and wondered what other surprises the would be facing now that Xander Harris was a part of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Xander sighed as he walked into his private quarters at the school. His new kids were asleep and settled into their new dorms. He would set them up with councilors and with a tutor the next morning. Xander had already debriefed his slayers and put the girls that had come to help him on punishment detail, which meant that they would be doing dishes and cleaning bathrooms for a week. Chrissa was grounded to her room and to school, something that the young slayer, who had been waiting on him, had complained about since they hadn't been patrolling, but had been out to a movie instead. Xander had pointed out that it was a school night and she was out after curfew.

The little girl could say nothing to that and had accepted her punishment, especially since it wasn't the customary three weeks for being on patrol without proper chaperones.

Xander walked into his private quarters and looked around for his babies, neither was in the cosy well-furnished room. He looked over towards the think maroon curtains, but did not see two little bodies hiding behind them. You could see touches of Buffy and Giles style in the room, both of whom had designed Xander's personal quarters since he could care less about anything involving decoration. As long as it was comfortable and safe for the twins, it was fine with him. Xander sighed again and smiled at the young woman sitting on the plush grey couch watching TV. She turned to face him and smiled. "Hello Xander, Tonia and Cooper played until they fell asleep on the floor." Andrea said with a giggle, making Xander smiled affectionately at her.

"Thanks for watching the twins for me tonight Andy, you are off kitchen detail for the next week, Chrissa Lara will be taking your place in the kitchen." Xander told her with an amused smile, while walking over to stand beside the couch. The younger woman had her bare feet propped up on the table; watching what looked like a rerun of one of the Harry Potter movies.

Andrea nodded, she had expected as much when they came back and told everyone where they had been. Andrea and the others had warned them about taking Chrissa out on a school night, of course, the other girls were going to get kitchen detail, but Chrissa would get more punishment since it was the third time she had been out past curfew. "Go on to bed honey; tell Chrissa what you were going to be doing in the morning, please?"

"You got it Xander," Andrea said with a hug and a kiss to his cheek. Xander tickled her lightly, making her giggle again before she left the room. Xander chuckled as she skipped out of the room. Once she was gone, he turned off the floor lamps and the television before heading back to the sleeping quarters and looking into the room that housed his twins. Buffy and Dawn's touch was more noticeable here. The room had soft pastels, with gold trim on the walls and carpet. The cribs he had made himself, the cribs were in a cherry wood with a matching rocker and changing table. The sheets on Cooper's bed were of Nemo and Tonia's were of Dori, both of his children loved _Finding Nemo_ and were enthralled with all things fish related. Xander was thinking of taking a trip to Sea World soon so that the children could see all of the aquatic creatures they wanted.

Antonia and Cooper were two years old and twins shared common interests and dislikes, though the pair was definitely different in personality. Every time Xander looked at his children, he felt joy and pain. He felt pain for the other him, the one who had helped in their creation. Cooper and Tonia came from another reality, his alternate had had the twins with Anya, but Glory killed Anya not long after they were born. The Hallie from that reality had brought them to him because of a wish made by that Xander. Glory had won in that universe and hell had come to earth. All of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang were going on a suicide mission to try to close the portal that Glory had opened when she returned to her dimension. That Xander had wanted his children safe. If he survived they would be returned, if not the twins would remain his.

Hallie had never returned for the children, that had been a year earlier and Xander was certain that the alternate him was dead. The twins were one of the reasons he continued to try to find a place that felt right, so far, that place was New York, but he still could not completely settle and he had no idea if he would be moving the children and himself again. If he did move again, it was to some place warm, with water, but not California, he would never live there again.

Xander walked to their cribs, placed a gentle kiss on each of their cheeks, and ran a hand over their backs, before walking out of their rooms and into his office. He thought about the fact that they would both need beds soon. He walked across the room and settled into his leather chair and looked around, here was really the only room that showed his touch. It was deeply masculine with hardwood floors, leather furniture and cherry wood tables and his desk.

Xander sighed and looked over at the video phone and grimaced, he needed to call the others and warn them about Lindsey and his being exposed. He needed to get Connor, who had turned out to be quite the hacker, to look up records on each of the people from tonight. He had a preliminary file on Lindsey's team, but he needed more information so that he could determine if he needed to call Willow and request a memory-altering spell. Not that Xander really wanted to talk to Willow or that she would even talk to him. Tonight had hammered home the distance between them, distance he didn't know how to breach.

_//Flashback//_

_Xander dreaded the call that he was about to answer. Willow was calling to let him in on the latest news and to tell him if he would be getting any more slayers or children. Taking a deep breath to calm him-self, Xander answered the phone. He felt his heart constrict at the sight of Willow, the way it always did now. Her hair was still a vibrant red, but their were streaks of pure white in it now, both from activating all of the slayers and from helping Buffy and the Fang Gang stop the destruction of LA to the Apocalypse. _

_Her eyes were older, gentler, and sadder than they were when they first met Buffy. They held the same pain and darkness that both Buffy and Xander carried. They were older than her years bespoke. Like Xander, they told a tale of one who had seen too much, but who had an infinite compassion inside of them. _

_When she looked at Xander, he saw her shame and he saw her pain. When she smiled at him, there was a hint of sadness to it and Xander knew what she would say before she said it. It was a ritual between them; one that only hurt them both. "Are you ready for me to come home?" she asked._

"_Yes," he replied. Tears filled both of their eyes when she sighed and began to speak of Council business. _

_At the end of the conversation, Xander spoke again, "Please Wills, come home to me?"_

"_I can't," she answered painfully; "You haven't forgiven me. Xan… I think I'll have Kennedy call you from now on, when you are truly ready to forgive me call; until then… good-bye." She whispered the words, her green eyes full of tears. The screen went dead before Xander could beg her not to go._

_//End of Flashback//_

Xander was unsure if he and Willow would ever speak again and that scared him. It scared him more than knowing they found themselves exposed to the military. He sighed again and dialed four numbers into the video phone.

Buffy answered immediately, she knew by looking at Xander that he had talked to Willow, but she also knew something else had happened. Her face lined with worry and her hair was damp from the shower she had just taken. Behind her was the same elegance that shown in Xander's living room, though in muted lilac. Dawn was asleep on the plush grey sofa behind her.

Faith cursed silently at the drawn, helpless look on Xander's face. She bit back a growl and slumped down into the leather chair that Buffy had bought her for her office and resisted the urge to curse Willow. She loathed that look and hated Willow for it every time she saw it on Xander's face. However, like Buffy she sensed something else was going on. The fact that he had called them at that time of night said something.

Giles looked at his adopted son in despair and wished yet again that the breach between Willow and Xander could someday heal. He worried that a new threat was facing his son just as the two slayers' did. He sat down wearily into the soft recliner that Xander had talked him into purchasing and nearly moaned at the ache that it eased in his lower back. Some days, like today, he truly felt all of his 51 years.

Spike looked at Xander shrewdly, gone was the loud vibrant, sarcastic child that he first met. In his place was a man older than his time, a man in deep pain, but no longer willing to face it. Xander was strong, he was deadly, and Spike thanked whatever goodness that watched over the group that the boy was still alive and that no vampire had turned him. He knew that should that ever happen the boy's rage and knowledge would destroy the world, mainly because he would go after all of them before they could even learn of his new status. The boy was sly and a planner, something that would be deadly as a vampire. Spike also knew that the lad had a part of him missing.

Xander didn't think he noticed, but he sensed the difference in the boy when he had returned to Sunnydale. He had been back in that hole longer than the merry band of do-gooders knew. He had sensed something off about the boy while the witch was gone, but he had gone back to normal, though darker in scent, when the witch returned. Spike still wondered at that. He looked across the room and the expanse of the shining wooden table to take in his sire/lover's reaction to the despair he could see on Xander. The elder vampire shared a look with him, before looking at his other child. Angel and Connor looked at Xander and wondered what disaster had befallen them now. Xander rarely sought out LA's champions, preferring to let Buffy, Faith or Dawn seek their aide. However, they too saw the exhaustion and heart sickness that Xander was usually better at hiding.

"What the fuck has happened now?" Faith asked bluntly.

Xander chuckled darkly at his friend's blunt question and caused them all to cringe at the tone of his laughter. Xander noticed the cringing and closed his eyes, forcing his fear and despair back. When he opened his eyes he noticed that Dawn had awakened and was looking at him in open worry, her soft blue eyes held fear as well. Fear that Xander knew was for him. "I'll be there in a few hours, let me call the airport and have them get the jet ready." Dawn said as she swung her legs off the couch and sat up fully.

Xander smiled at her affectionately and they all relaxed as the Xander they depended on resurfaced. They each felt a stab of guilt, but they worried and they feared that one day they would loose him to his grief over Willow and then they knew they would loose Willow as well. Each loathed the situation; they loathed how they used him to make it through the day, and how they to a smaller extent used Willow to make it through the day, each for different reasons. However, they did and they let themselves be lulled into complacency once again by Xander's gentle mirth. "It's not that bad Dawnie, but I did need to tell you that Lindsey Monroe and I have been exposed to the Military and Lindsey was outted to her team this evening." Xander told her gently.

Faces paled, and curses thrown and a dear lord came from Giles, Xander held up his hand and they all quieted down. "Lindsey is safe with her team, I do believe that they will be watching her closely and I warned them to call if Lindsey had to kill a human. We won't have a repeat of Dana, Faith, Or Rona. I can guarantee you that. As for the Military, that is my worry, they were NCIS, I knew one of them, Ziva David, she and Lindsey have had a problem, but I'm sure they will work it out."

"Ziva David, where do I know that name from?" Spike asked confused, a frown marring his brow.

"Sheara, Ziva got her to me when she got into trouble." Xander answered, Spike nodded and grinned he and Sheara adored playing taunt the Lover, she always got Connor and he always got Peaches. The two men reacted almost the same way to their teasing and clubbing.

Connor growled he recognized the look of mischief that was crossing his friend's face. "No you can't take Sheara clubbing, not after last week." Angel gave him an identical scowl, making those watching snicker. Spike just smiled innocently, though this being Spike it didn't work.

Faith rolled her eyes and looked back to her Xan, "So what do you want us to do mantoy?" This time it was Buffy and Xander who rolled their eyes. While Giles and Dawn held, back a chuckle. Faith had decided that now that Xander was an adult boytoy no longer fit him, so now he was mantoy.

"I need Connor to hack into NCIS and find out more about the rest of Ziva's team. Especially the Jethro Gibbs, the other four are just investigators with the team, but he is or was a Gunny in the Marines and I want to know more about him. I want to make sure he doesn't have more affiliations with the people behind the Initiative. Also I want Dawn to call Riley and see what he knows and what he can find out." Xander said calmly, though he was reassuring them, he wanted to make sure his own instincts were working in Lindsey's favor.

"What about Willow, will you need her to spell them; do we need to call her?" Connor asked softly.

Xander winced noticeably, "If so you call her, we are no longer speaking."

"Xander…" Buffy trailed off at the tormented look he gave her. "I'll talk to her." Buffy promised Xander just nodded.

"I'm going to bed, I have court in the morning and a new group of kids to get into school and with councilors, if their willing." Xander said with an exhausted look. The others nodded and said good-bye before watching him disconnect. They all looked at one another. "I'll talk to her and see what is going on, if nothing else I'll have her sleep walk with him like she did me once. That way they can talk honestly." The others nodded at that plan and hung up.

Kennedy looked at her sobbing lover and felt despair fill her. Willow had cried herself to sleep and even asleep, she wept. Kennedy was at her wits end trying to think of a way to help Willow and Xander. The last time she had seen Xander he hadn't been in any better shape than Willow was. They were tearing themselves apart and it hurt to watch.

Kennedy started in surprise when the video phone chirped, she climbed off the plush bed and walked out of the brightly decorated bedroom and into Willow's office, and it too reflected Willow's usually sunny nature as well as her love of nature.

She tensed when she saw Buffy and forced herself to relax, she would never like Buffy, but she could not deny that she was nicer now and that both Xander and Willow adored the elder slayer. "Buffy," she greeted cordially.

"Hey Kennedy, where's Willow?" Buffy asked somberly.

"She talked to Xander tonight," Kennedy snapped angrily, before she could stop herself. "Sorry," she said with a petulant scowl. Buffy just shrugged, she didn't like Kennedy. She thought that the younger girl had preyed upon Willow when she was still recovering from losing Tara, and all of the mental work the Coven had done to her; including putting her in a time bubble and blocking her off from the rest of the world until she could do a thorough detoxing from the magickal addiction.

If Buffy thought about it the summer Willow went to the Coven was when Xander and Willow began to separate, it was also when Xander began to change, something was going on and she just wished she knew what it was.

_Dreamscape_

_Pain, that was all he remembered, pain of the physical and emotional kind, here he was alone. He could no longer feel her and there was no one coming to save him. He screamed out in agony._

_The landscape was dark and foreboding; it matched his horror and pain. Lightening and rain pounded down on him intermediately and he shook with cold and heat. Dark malicious laughter cut through him, ripping at his frayed nerves literally._

_Then in his darkness the sound of sobbing reached him, a hand touched his cheek and soft lips pressed against his forehead. He sighed softly and the landscape changed, the rain falling down gentled, the lightening disappeared and light rose around the kneeling pair. _

_He looked up at her, "I'm dreaming you never came before." His face and voice were sharp with anger and pain._

_Her tears mingled with the rain. "I never knew, they put me in a time bubble, I was removed from our space." She told him gently, tears falling down her pale cheeks._

"_You left me alone! How could you? I would never have left you alone! You promised you wouldn't do it again!" he shouted angrily and started to move away. She threw herself into his arms. _

"_I was unconscious, I woke up there, I never wanted to leave you. Please, I feel like I'm dying. I have since that day on the plateau. I didn't know why, but a part of me knew you were in trouble, just as it knows now. Please Xander please don't leave me. I can't lose you the way I lost Tara. I know it was my fault, I should have fought to get out of the time bubble, I should have fought harder to get Tara back. Maybe if I hadn't killed Osiris I would have got her back, but I lost her and now I am going to lose you." She stopped sobbing and gripping his arms so tight that her nails left impressions, impressions that would be there when he woke. _

_Xander whimpered slightly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down onto his lap. "You really didn't want to leave me?" he asked, his voice confused and child like. _

"_Never, I never wanted to leave you." Willow promised fervently._

"_Come home to me, please? I need you Willow. I can't do this without you. There are plenty of Slayer's in Brazil, please come home?" he begged her._

_She sniffled and nodded, "I'll start packing when I wake up." She promised._

"_Wake up," he begged his eyes alight with a pleasure that had been missing for far too long. _

_End of Dreamscape_

Willow gasped and sat up straight. Kennedy pulled back in alarm from where she had been about to touch Willow. "We need to pack; we're going home to Xander." Kennedy blinked in confusion as Willow rushed across the room and to their walk-in closet.

"Ah, Willow, Buffy's on the phone." Kennedy said in confusion. Willow spun to face her, a smile crossing her face, as she walked past her lover she pulled her into a deep kiss and giggle as she pulled away, "Pack." She ordered with a wink. Kennedy blinked in confusion but grinned and ran to the closet. She didn't know what was going on, but Willow had laughed. She paused for a moment and tears filled her eyes, Willow had laughed.

Buffy looked up as Willow rushed into the room. The sight of her friend stunned Buffy, Willow was smiling, but she had lost a great deal of weight. "Willow?" she asked hesitantly.

"Hi Buffy, what do you need I can't talk long I have to pack, Kennedy and I are going home to Xander, Vi and Beatrice can run this area they do enough of it already, my students can be sent on later. Do you want to come to Xander and I for Christmas or do you want us to come to you. You look great, how is Dawn, has something happened are you okay. Oh no its Giles is he okay do I need to come there first?" Willow asked all in one breath.

Buffy blinked and thanked the goddess that she was used to Willow babble otherwise she would have lost the thread at Hi Buffy. "What's up? I talked to Xander not even an hour ago and you two weren't talking?" Buffy asked confused.

Willow smiled happily at her, "Dream talk, all better now. Kennedy and I are moving to New York to live with Xander, Rona, and the twins." She told her with a giggle. Willow's beautiful face was glowing with happiness. Her green eyes were sparkling and Buffy drew in a ragged breath and felt tears fill her eyes. She knew that look. It was the look that Willow had had before everything went wrong in Sunnydale, before the pain and darkness and over taken all of them.

"Oh Willow, that's wonderful news. I um…Xander called cause he and Lindsey were exposed to her team and the military. Connor is hacking their database to make sure they can be trusted and to learn more about the team. Xander will probably have the information by the time you arrive in New York." Buffy told her smiling in relief and happiness, while a part of her was wondering at the convenience of the pair sharing a Dream talk.

She looked over to where Dawn was calmly filling her nails and narrowed her eyes. Dawn looked over at her and smirked. Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed. She should have known that Dawn would pull something like this. Dawn was of the opinion that hurting Xander was a death sentence in the making. The fact that she also loved Willow was probably all that saved the other woman from a magickal attack. Instead, she had helped them work through their problems, which was the only thing saving her sister from getting a spanking. Well that and Dawn could fight her to a stand still thanks to Spike and Xander's training.

Buffy finished talking to Willow and promised her friend to talk to her soon. Once she hung up with Willow, she turned to face Dawn. Dawn looked up at her with cool amusement and raised one finely arched brow. "You did that didn't you?" Buffy said, though it was a question, it was more a statement of fact.

Dawn nodded, "Xander needs her." She said calmly and then went back to working on her nails. Buffy sighed and stood, she walked past Dawn, pausing only to press a kiss to Dawn's forehead.

As she walked from the room Dawn smiled and whispered, "He needs you too."

_The dreamscape changed as Willow woke up, the sky darkened and he shuddered in fear and slowly began to curl into a ball. Raged shrieks echoed in the darkened sky. Anguish made the air heavy and hard to breathe, Xander looked up, his eyes on the figure screaming and wailing in agony. _

_Xander knew what the figure was thinking, why he was mourning, he had been forced to watch another he cared about die. Forced to struggle to go on after losing another person he swore to protect. This made the loss, the death, and the blood he had to sludge through to much for his haunted psyche to bare._

_As the figure released his pain, Xander wanted to scream at him to pay attention, to turn and see the men that appeared behind him. Each man was different from the next. The figure didn't know it, but Xander did, the men were the descendants of the four men that tied a girl to the earth and made her and all those that came after her fight the Darkness and prisoners to Destiny and Death. _

_The tallest of the four men was dark skinned, with dark brown eyes, eyes that shone with cold excitement. His hair was cropped, he had high cheekbones and fill sensual lips, his nose was Romanesque added to his air of elegant beauty. His long elegant hands clenched into fists from excitement as he waited for the wailing figure to notice him. _

_The second man had shoulder length blond hair; it was the only thing about him that was striking. His face was bland and his eyes a washed out hazel. His lips were thin and his cheeks were pock scared. He was smiling, though it looked more like a grimace, in excitement. His stubby, scared fingers clutched the grey robe he wore._

_The third man was the shortest of the four men and had a misleading air of fragility to him. He had short brown hair and the face of a fallen Angel he was simply beautiful. His eyes were a brilliant blue, tempered by the light of cruelty that shone through his placid mask. For him this was the day of his destiny, the day that would be the collimation of a lifetime of waiting and centuries of planning for the glorious cause._

_It was the last man that made Xander whimper in fear. He wore the face of the man who haunted his worst nightmares and was responsible for the maiming he had suffered before Sunnydale went to hell for real. The man was in fact a relative to the demented preacher Caleb. He stood different from Caleb, his hair was longer, and he would speak with an accent. The man's eyes were also colder than Caleb's was. While they were both insane and evil, Caleb's eyes had always shown with the warmth of his pleasure in his evil deeds. This man was coolly amused and excited by what was coming, but nothing resembling warmth touched his eyes or beautiful face. _

_As one, the men fell to the excitement riding them and lifted their hands as one, calling upon ancient and archaic magick to aide them in their ghastly plan. This action of calling on the magick brought the figure's attention to them. He cursed at the sight of the four men; the Caleb look alike had him stepping back in shock and fear. _

"_You will do nicely, Slayer's Heart." The men spoke as one. _

_The figure never had a chance to speak or even to scream as the magicks hey called upon poured into his body and began a nightmarish change that closely paralleled the actions of their fore fathers', with only one horrid change, something that would change Xander Harris on a fundamental level._

Xander gasped and sat up in bed, his hands gripping the sheets tightly, tears stinging his eyes. With a shuddering breath he reached over and turned on the light, shaking through the after affects of the nightmare/memory. Looking down at his chest he shuddered again at the magickal brand that was burned beneath his heart. With a sigh Xander sat up fully, swing his legs over the side of the bed and slowly standing and making his way to the bathroom for a hot shower.

Xander knew the nightmare stemmed from his confrontation with both Willow and the police earlier in the day. He tipped his head back and moaned at the sensation of hot water on his tense body. He fought to put away the pain and unease, clinging to the memory of Willow coming to New York as he finished his shower and dried off.

Tossing his towel to the side Xander walked into his bedroom and looked out the large window, towards the rising sun. A soft smile played upon his lips as peace and sunlight bathed him. He was still alive; he had his friends, his family and his children. He was still struggling with his nightmares, but that was okay too. He would survive, he always did.

Xander turned away from the window and chuckled as the sound of small voices chattering reached him. He went to the window and quickly dressed in form fitting blue jeans and a green t-shirt. He didn't have court until later in the afternoon, so he was dressing comfortably. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail while he ignored the shoes in his closet and left the room to get the twins ready for the day.


	3. Chapter 3

When Xander walked down stairs with the twins in his arms the people of the school greeted him happily. Xander smiled, accepted hugs and let people dote on the twins. He went to the nursery and set the twins down, watching them run to their playmates and tumble around tickling each other. Xander laughed waved at Rona and Lara, and left to deal with the paperwork portion of his duties.

He was in the middle of writing an email when his office door slammed opened and his secretary slammed the door again, "We're being invaded by government agents." Melissa said flustered and angry.

Xander stood and went out to the main area and saw men standing in a close cluster glaring at Rona and Lara. "Who the hell are you and why are you in my house?" Xander snarled his eye darkening dangerously. He looked at Melissa and she ran back to the office to hit the emergency beacon. These were not real agents by the look on Xander's face.

Lindsey gasped as the bracelet she was wearing went hot. She shot to her feet and ran through the lab. "Lindsey?" Mac asked as she ran past him.

"The house is under attack!" She yelled running to the stairwell and leaping downward, landing on the first floor easily and running out the door. She passed Don and Danny who gapped at her in shock.

"What the hell?" Don demanded turning and jumping in his car to follow the fast moving Lindsey. Danny was at his side. Mac had already gathered the rest of his team, Gibbs's team, and called for backup.

By the time, they reached the House a battle had already begun, the real cops and agents watched the battle with awe filled eyes. The slayers were moving with a deadly grace that was so fast it was hard to follow. The so-called agents had inflicted a lot of damage that included shooting Xander, but he was still fighting. The kids that they had rescued, plus the youngest slayers was hiding in the bunker waiting for someone they trusted to come get them out of the room.

The officers and agents waded into the battle helping the slayers fight the demonic and human invaders. Seconds later more people arrived and the tide turned towards the invaders before a pissed off group of Fang and Scoobies arrived. The demons began to fight harder trying to find a way to escape and knowing it was futile now that the two groups were fighting together. When it ended, the demons were dead and the humans were injured and contained.

"Xander, you okay?" Willow asked no one knew about his injury.

Xander lifted a hand and then collapsed unconscious on the ground. Screams and pandemonium broke out and Danny Messer reached him first. "He's been shot Mac." Danny told his boss as the man came and knelt beside them.

Willow screamed in terror and rage, Faith watched as Dawn punched Willow knocking her out. Giles came over with a syringe and injected Willow with something. "What was that?" Tony demanded pulling the unconscious girl away from the pair snarling in rage, confusing and shocking the Scoobies.

"I assure you that was for her protection. Willow has watched someone she loved die from a gunshot wound and it nearly drove her insane. Willow has as much power as a low-level goddess; we merely gave her a sedative until we can determine how badly Xander is injured. If he dies or is critically injured we will have to find a way to bind her powers otherwise I cannot say what she will do to these men in retribution." Giles said solemnly. Tony looked at him and then over at the injured man and nodded, letting Kennedy take Willow from him.

Buffy was trying to get to the bound men snarls of rage ripping from her throat; it was only through the intervention of her fellow slayers that she was being kept away.

"Someone might want to grab Faith." Angel growled holding onto his struggling childe.

Rona grabbed Faith and held tight while she snarled and tried to get to the invaders. Mac looked at Danny who was focusing only on the downed man. Lindsey was crying and Stella was holding her. "We need to get him to the hospital." Mac said grimly.

Giles nodded and was pulling out his cell phone when a demon popped up from nowhere, taking Danny and Xander with him as it quickly disappeared again. "Xander!" Dawn screamed in horror and tried to follow, but something stopped her.

Giles turned to the humans the hand captured and noticed that one was chanting under his breath. Giles calmly and brutally kicked the man in the chest, causing him to scream in pain and for Xander and Danny to reappear. The demon growled out something guttural to Giles who raised an eyebrow and nodded.

The demon disappeared and the humans screamed as the powers they had stolen were torn from them by Giles's carefully worded spell. Dawn had rushed forward to check the pair, but they were thankfully unharmed, or in Xander's case, no further damage had been done.

"Why did you attack here, what did you hope to gain?" Giles asked coldly, looking over at his adopted son in anguish and rage.

"The One… has… not… done… as… was… planned!" One of the men gasped out, unwillingly, but unable not to speak as Lara hit them with a powerful spell.

"What plan was that?" Giles asked in a snarl.

It was then that Xander's greatest secret came out. The man told how the Four, the Council of the Old Order, who had created the Slayer line, had changed Xander so that he would impregnate any slayer he ever slept with, to ensure that the line had strong warriors and daughters. They then cursed him so that he could gain no pleasure with a woman if she was not a slayer, the curse would in fact cause pain if he tried to have sex with a normal woman.

It mattered not if he slept with men as they could not be made pregnant and the Four had not seen him ever turning to a man. The men then told them how the Four were angry that the One had managed to break the compulsion they had placed on him to breed with as many slayers as possible.

Giles was shocked and silence echoed in the room as the men stopped speaking. Buffy moaned in pain and Faith swore viciously. One of the slayers began to growl and another picked it up, until soon the room sounded like a lion's den. The women were enraged that someone would hurt their greatest champion, their Heart.

Buffy stepped forward, "D'Hoffryn Lord of All Vengeance, Father to Anyanka, Creator of Justice's Vengeance. I, Buffy Summers, Last of the First Line, Call on you for Justice in the Name of Xander Harris, Heart of the Slayer Line, Husband of Anyanka."

D'Hoffryn appeared immediately and looked to his left, seeing Xander collapsed. He frowned, "I can do nothing to aide Alexander, he was injured by a human." D'Hoffryn said respectfully.

After the fall of Sunnydale and the battle of LA, things had changed in the demonic world. What had once been a world that was falling to the darkness was now a world that was truly equal in the battlefield. The core Scoobies and LA Warriors were considered a sort of royalty in the demonic community. Xander was seen as demonic consort that fought for the light. One of the reasons that D'Hoffryn would not allow Anya to call for vengeance for the wedding that wasn't, was because in the eyes of the demon community they were already married and Anya had betrayed their bond by not telling Xander sooner.

It did not matter that Xander and Anya were both human at that time, they had both been changed by the demonic. Unbeknownst to any of the Scoobies, Xander was considered both a Hyena Primal, a member of the Merpeople, and a human vampire.

It was the reason the First Evil wanted him killed so badly, his gift as the One Who Sees, was just coming to the fore and as he had been named Slayer's Knight by Vampiric Royalty he was a danger. The First never appeared to him because it would have given her plans away sooner than she hoped.

When the First came to Sunnydale it had three plans. Kill Buffy Summers, open the hellmouth, and kill Xander Harris. She had not succeeded in any of her goals, much to the relief of the rest of the demonic community.

The Scoobies were watched closely after that, for many they became a bigger target, especially Buffy for her time in Rome and Xander for what he was doing. His ability to find and save those that others would have turned to their goals or that were potential food had angered and feared many. To the rest the Scoobies were awed, feared, and highly respected, the fact that they had all survived when none should have said a great deal about the strengths and abilities. High-level demons were extremely respectful and terrified when they came under the eye of the Scoobies.

Then the LA Warriors destroyed Wolfram and Hart. They stopped the apocalypse with the help of the Council, further terrifying the demonic world as they joined to further the needs of the Council and the slayers.

D'Hoffryn was one of the few demon lords that had forged a treaty with the Council. He was very respectful and knew that for Buffy to have called him something severe had happened. The only way he could not intervene on behalf of the Council is if a human with no powers harmed them.

"We know, but we want someone else to pay and they aren't unpowered humans." Buffy said smiling coldly and making D'Hoffryn raise an eyebrow in question.

"Have you heard of the Four?" Giles asked coldly.

D'Hoffryn scowled, "The makers of the Slayer line, one of the oldest line of child abusers in history. I know them well."

"They hurt Xander." Dawn said softly.

D'Hoffryn looked shocked and enraged as Dawn and the others took turns explaining what the Four had done to Xander. When they finished D'Hoffryn looked over at Xander sadly. "They fall under the purview of our treaty as the Four are as human as I. Thank you for bringing them to my attention. I am afraid that I cannot undo the curse they laid on Alexander, the curse is too well entrenched." D'Hoffryn then nodded to them, set time back to its proper course and disappeared, going to deal with his long time enemy.

"Let's get him to a hospital." Giles said, pulling his phone out and praying Xander would be alright.


End file.
